For a while today I thought this had to be the worst day in the history of the world, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock with the rest of the vermin. It got so bad that I ate half a box of chocolate macadamia nuts at one sitting. It’s a good thing Suzanne doesn’t go to Hawaii every week, or I’d be in even worse shape than I am. I already went through all my Girl Scout cookies in two and a half days earlier in the week, but today’s depression was even deeper.

But I’m okay now. It’s just so frustrating, because there’s nothing I can do to prove that there’s something wrong with my car. Every time I call for help, the car fixes itself before help arrives. Nothing is ever wrong when I take it to the dealer. I got put through the wringer today because it wouldn’t start (again), but then it did start (as always). So it’s an inconvenience, nothing more. At least, that’s how anyone who didn’t have to live through it would probably look at it.

I made my daily trip to the post office, and when I got there I had a problem getting the door unlocked. Then after I got back to the car it refused to start. It wouldn’t turn over, and the warning light came on with the words “Service Vehicle” lit up. So naturally, I assumed the vehicle needed service, and I called the roadside assistance number. Towing is included in the warranty, and after hanging on the pay phone for ten minutes with who knows whose germs pressed into my ear, I got them to send me a tow truck.

Then I went back the car and it started right up. I turned off the engine and started it again. And I did it one more time, just to be sure. I went back to the pay phone to cancel the service call (of which they had no record, probably because it was too soon to get into their system) and drove home. And ate half a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. If I’d had a full box, I’d have eaten even more.

And as I said to Tammy when I was telling her this story, as much as I like chocolate covered macadamia nuts, they get to be kind of disgusting after you’ve eaten about three of them. They don’t even taste good any more. It’s not only shameful and fattening, but wasteful of perfectly good chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Now I don’t have any left for a better time when I would enjoy them more.

But at least I have yet another new plan for the car. Now I’m not going to lock it at all. I just won’t drive it anywhere that I think it might be unsafe to leave it unlocked. It locks itself when I put it in gear, so I don’t have all the bugs figured out, but I have high hopes for this new plan. And I will continue to have high hopes right up to the point where it doesn’t work.